The Origins and Evolution of ISIS in Libya web 0619

The Origins and Evolution of ISIS in Libya

Map 2. Map showing control of Libya and location of ISIS attacks as of May 2016

mostly from the Furjan tribe, tried to band together and derail ISIS’s attempts at solidifying control over Sirte.109 The impetus for the rebellion was the murder of local anti-ISIS Salafi cleric Sheikh Khalid bin Rajeb al-Furjani, who was killed during an attempted ISIS abduction.110 In reaction to the rebellion, ISIS fighters, including members of the Furjan tribe itself, killed

over forty Furjan leaders and supporters, including members of the Warfalla tribe. They also targeted the local rebels by shelling their homes, mostly in the third district of Sirte. They beheaded twelve others and publicly crucified another four to send a graphic message to the rest of the community.111 As a result, the rebellion was crushed within three days, quashing any

109 Tamer El-Ghobashy and Hassan Morajea, “Islamic State Tightens Grip on Libyan Stronghold of Sirte,” Wall Street Journal, November 29, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/ islamic-state-entrenches-in-sirte-libya-1448798153. 110 Mahmoud Al-Salouha, “The Assassination of Salafist Sheikh Khalid Furjani in Sirte,” (Arabic) Al-Wasat, August 11, 2015, http://www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/85303/.

111 “Press Briefing Notes on Libya, Syria, and Yemen,” Spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, August 18, 2015, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/ DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16329&LangID=E; Jared Malsin, “ISIS Re-Establish Their Stronghold on Qaddafi’s Home Town after Crushing a Rebellion,” TIME, August 19, 2015, http://time. com/4003049/isis-sirte-rebellion/.

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ATLANTIC COUNCIL

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The Origins and Evolution of ISIS in Libya web 0619

Published on Jun 19, 2017

Atlantic Council

For the past three decades, Libya has been a rich recruiting ground for the global jihad. Investigating the precursors and then subsequent evolution of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and other extremist actors throughout this period presents actionable insights into how jihadist actors coalesce; how they interfere in post-conflict state building; the threats they pose to civilians, nascent economies, and external states; and finally, what complexities remain when their hold on territory has been eradicated, but their adherents have not been killed nor their ideology debunked. In The Origins and Evolution of ISIS in Libya, Jason Pack, Rhiannon Smith, Karim Mezran examine ISIS’s pre-history, birth, expansion, consolidation, and dispersal in Libya, as well as the broader political context of the country. They offer advice and recommendations for how Western governments and militaries should approach jihadist actors globally.